Ji Chang Wook was first introduced by my sister. I haven't really heard of him nor watched any of his show until I watched Healer. After that, I got hooked watching him.
Disclaimer: The reviews are based on my subjective opinion. I've reviewed it according to the order that I've watched them.
1. Healer(2014)
20 episodes
Star: 5/5
As I mentioned above, this is the first show I've watched. And I loved it. I am so impressed by how he is so good in the role that he played here.
The theme of the story is about friendship and it's also romantic comedy and thriller. He is called "Healer", which is a codename for an illegal night courier. But, in one of his assignment, he started to unveil some truth from 1992 incident which involved his father and some of his friends way back. The tv show is very good in showing the back story and every episode is really good. Ji Chang Wook is also good in all the action parts of the show.
Eventhough this is done few years earlier, it's well made and I would really recommend this to anyone.
By the way, I've watched this from Viki App. I'm not sure if this is available in Netflix or in any other platform.
2. Lovestruck in the City (2020)
17 episodes
Star: 1/5
So, after I've watched his healer, I've tried to watch other of his show. The next that I've watched is this. As opposed to my rating in Healer, I would just give this show a 1 star. I've watched this from Netflix, so maybe it was produced by Netflix. Maybe that explains the style of the show. It's very different from any Korean drama I've watched. It seems that they are in a tv show, like the Office style. They are looking at the camera, it seems that somebody is interviewing them. There are 6 people talking about their dating life.
But the story itself is something that I don't like. In his side of story, he fell in love with a girl. He needs to go back to the city because of work. He and the girl decided to meet in Seoul. But the girl didn't show up during the time they need to meet. As the story progress, we'll found out that the girl is different from whom she told him. It's just really an annoying love story for me because I don't like lying. Whatever excuses the girl makes, to justify what she did to him, I still can't easily accept it. So, this tv show is pure meh for me. 🤮
Honestly, I regret watching this. But I just finished it because each episode is about is about 30 minutes long.
3. Backstreet Rookie (2020)
Star: 3/5
Episodes: 16
This is another drama of Ji Chang Wook. I've watched this in Viki app. The story is about Dae Hyun (Ji Chang Wook) working in a convenience store. Of course every korean drama always have a love story. So in this story, he has a girlfriend but his girlfriend is insecure when a new beautiful part timer came in his store. The story revolves in his life as a convenience store manager and some of his struggles. This is just a light drama, not too much of a drama or action.
4. Melting me softly
Stars: 3/5
Episodes; 16
This is another Ji Chang Wook tv show that I've watched in Vikki App. The story is about 2 persons Ma Dong Chan (Ji Chang Wook) and Ko Miran (Won Ji nah) who were the first to experienced the cryogenic sleep. They volunteered to be the first human to be frozen with a promised that they will be awaken after 24 hours. But, there was some anomaly and they were defrost after 20 years. When they woke up, their normal body temperature is now 31oC. If they extend to more than that, it will be very dangerous for them. So, the story is about their struggles after they woke up, their family, financial, and work struggles.
Overall, it's just a light story. The story line is not very relatable. So, I'm only giving it a 3/5
5. The K2 (2016)
Stars: 4/5
Episodes: 16
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This is another action series of Ji Chang Wook. His fight scenes are good, but not too good compared to healer. This drama is more political than the others. In here, Ji Chang Wook as Kim Je Ha was a former mercenary soldier called "K2". He became a bodyguard for Choi Yoo Jin (Song Yoon Ah) who was married to Jang Se Joon (Jo Sung Ha). Jang Se Joon was running for a president but he has an illegitemate daughter. Soon, Kim Je Ha was assigned to guard the illegitemate daughter of Jang Se Joon. A lot of conflict, a lot of drama and stress in the show. I can say that this is not really my cup of tea. The story line and theme itself is not very interesting to me compared to Healer. Also, the first few episodes with fighting scenes are really good, but slowly the story became so dragging with drama and political problems. It bores me. But I think maybe the last 3 episodes captured my interests again and I pushed myself to finish it. 😊
Overall, Ji Chang Wook is very flexible actor. He is really good in action dramas. He is also good in romantic comedies as well. I hope that they will just give him better shows in the future in which they can really showcase his acting skills. ❤
Which one is your favorite Ji Chang Wook tv show?
Edit additional:
6. The Sound of Magic (2022)
Stars: 3/5
Episodes: 6
Of course, I wouldn't pass on this one when it showed in Netflix. Since it's only 6 episodes, I've watched it. The story line is not my cup of tea. It's a little bit mysterious, musical, magical and melodramatic. Since I don't understand Korean, I can't appreciate much the musical. But, as usual Ji Chang Wook is very good in his role. It makes me intrigued while watching this drama. I only gave this 3/5 because it just 6 episodes and for me it seems that they rushed to explain all of what is happening at the 5th or 6th episode. Korean dramas usually are good with their back stories, but this one is not so much.
7. Empress Ki (2013)
Episodes: 51
Star: 5/5
Episodes: 51
Star: 5/5
This is one of my favorite drama of Ji Chang Wook. This is quite a long tv show with 51 episodes with 1 hr each episode. It is a costume/period drama. Ji Chang Wook was a crowned prince then the emperor. He is really good in his roles. He was like a pathetic crowned prince, then a puppet emperor, then they developed his character to be more better.
This tv show is a mix of drama, betrayal, political conflict and love story. I've also found out that this was based on a true story. The tv show is about 70% similar to what happened in their history. This is about the life of Empress Ki, who was once a tribute girl then became an Empress of Yuan Dynasty. In this show, Ji Chang Wook is the emperor of Yuan Dynasty. I love how his character improved throughout the story. His acting skills were amazing! We can see his different emotional skills portrayed here. Some articles mentioned that this became the turning point of his acting career.
This show is very different than previous tv shows of Ji Chang Wook that I've watched. I'm so used to see him in modern shows, thriller/ drama/ romantic comedy but this one is different because it's a historical drama. I would definitely recommend this to be part of your binge watch list. I've watched this from the Viki App so I'm not sure if this available in other platform.
8. Suspicious Partner (2017)
Episodes: 40 episodes
Star: 4/5
Episodes: 40 episodes
Star: 4/5
This is another modern thriller/ suspense drama of Ji Chang Wook. He is a prosecutor in this show solving mysterious cases of a psychopath sereal killer. I like the storyline and the theme. It's 40 episodes but only about 20-30 minutes long so it's easier to finish this show. It's not all suspense but there's also romantic comedy parts of the show. I like this show and I would also recommend this to others as well.
So far, I've watched 8 of his shows and would be watching more of his older shows. I really appreciate him as an actor. He is very flexible, his acting skills are amazing, he has different various roles that shows how talented he is. He's also very good looking. 😉
Additional (2024)
9. Welcome to Samdal-ri (2023)
Episodes: 16 episodes
Star: 5/5
This is his latest show that I've watched. It's a beautiful story of friendship between Cho Yong Pil (Ji Chang Wook) and Cho Sam Dal (Shin Hye-sun). The setting is in Jeju Island. The show gives a "Reply 1988 vibe to me. I love shows about friendship.
The supporting actors were good and funny as well. They also bring joy to the show.
Here is my TOP 5 Ji Chang Wook tv shows (edited)
(No need to explain again, just read my reviews)
1. Healer
2. Empress Ki
3. Samdalri
1. Healer
2. Empress Ki
3. Samdalri
4.Suspicious Partner
5. Backstreet Rookie
5. Backstreet Rookie
